Huge Russian Assault Fails as Ukraine Repels Seven Attacks in One Day: Kyiv

Moscow has continued with its campaign of aiming for civilian targets in Ukraine but most of its cruise missiles have been shot down, with attacks on seven areas having been repelled, according to Kyiv's forces.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Wednesday that over the previous day Russia had launched 28 cruise missiles, 20 of which were taken out by air defense units.

As Ukrainian officials step up their calls for the West to supply more air defense capabilities, the update said that Russia had carried out 13 airstrikes and launched more than 40 attacks from rocket salvo systems.

"There remains the threat of air and missile strikes on the entire territory of Ukraine," Ukraine's forces said, according to a translation, following attacks on a number of cities this week, including Kyiv.

The massive wave of Russian attacks coincides with the appointment of Sergey Surovikin as overall commander of Vladimir Putin's invasion. The Air Force General commanded Russian armed forces in Syria, where he was accused of overseeing a bombardment that destroyed much of Aleppo.

U.S. think tank, the Institute for the Study of War said that his appointment did not mean Russia could "Syrianize" the war "largely because of its failure to gain air superiority," which impedes its ability to carry out carpet-bombing campaigns across Ukraine of the type it conducted in Syria.

Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, dismissed the significance of Surovikin's appointment.

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"There will be no real change in offensive capabilities of the Russian troops because he is not more capable and competent than the rest of the Russian generals," he told Newsweek. "Only fail after fail will follow."

In their assessment on Wednesday, Ukraine's armed forces said they had repelled Russian attacks in the areas of Mykolaivka, Soledar, Bakhmutske, Bakhmut, Mayorsk, Pervomaiske and Krasnohorivka.

The Ukrainian Air Force carried out 15 strikes during the day, damaging 13 areas containing weapons and military equipment and two Russian defense systems, according to the update, which Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry about.

Ukrainian armed forces also noted Russia's use of 14 Iranian-supplied unmanned aerial vehicles to attack critical infrastructure in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.

The use of the drones was also referred to by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) in its daily update on Wednesday. It said there was "a realistic possibility that Russia has achieved some success" by using several of the drones at once, which include the Shahed-136.

Despite its 1600-mile range, the Shahed-136 can only carry a small explosive payload which meant it was "unlikely to be satisfactorily fulfilling the deep strike function which Russia probably aspired to use it for," the MOD said.

British defense officials added that the limited effect of Russian tactical combat jets and "the lack of a reliable, sustainable, and accurate operational-level strike capability" are likely to be significantly hampering Russian capabilities in Ukraine.